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When you look at how far the live-action Transformers franchise has come, it’s truly a spectacular feat. Sure, not every film has been a major high point for cinema or the franchise itself, but in all sincerity, the Michael Bay-originated world has truly made its mark.
The 2007 Transformers film itself found mixed to positive reception, with praise for its action sequences and special effects – earning a total of five sequels and one more on the way (Transformers: Rise of the Beasts). With nearly $800 million under its belt, it’s hard to imagine a world where we didn’t have Transformers by Bay; however, the filmmaker recently divulged that he was reluctant to sign on for one major reason.
In a new interview with Yahoo, Bay tells the publication, “It was scary. Because if the robots didn’t look dead real, [the movie would not have worked]. But we broke a lot of visual effects ground on that. [My friend Mike] goes, ‘Bay, I don’t know about that Transformers thing. We’re having a beer; I’m like, ‘Yeah, I know. It’s a little scary.’ Then I showed him the first scene, Scorponok jumping out of the desert, right behind Tyrese. I showed it to him. He goes, ‘Oh, OK. Alright, I get it now.'” Regarding its effect on audiences, Bay also notes, “It was a fun ride. You see the joy of the audiences around the world.”
After the notable (slight) relaunch of the franchise with the well-received spin-off Bumblebee, it was confirmed that the future films would adjust to the more modern expectations of its fanbase, also looking to lean into a heavy influence from its Beast Wars source material. The next chapter, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, will leap forward from Bumblebee’s late 1980s inspiration to the mid-1990s, acting as the first of a brand new Transformers trilogy to come.
Would you say you are satisfied with Bay’s depiction of Transformers, given the challenges attached?
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